World War III
World War III was a war fought between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and their allies during the early to mid 1970s. The war was a world-changing event which led to the first successful and devastating use of the nuclear bomb. The war can be split into three main fronts; the European Front, the Russian Front and the American Front. European Front The European campaign saw the involvement of all major participants of the war. It was the first front the war was fought at, beginning on the 7th of May, 1970, with the First Battle of Berlin. Hostilities ceased on this front on the 23rd of March, 1973, after the failed offensive of the Soviet Army to retake Saint Petersburg. Skirmishes and battle raged all the way from Germany to Poland, across the Baltics and on Russian territory. First Battle of Berlin May 7th, 1970 Soviet tanks crash through the wall and engage the NATO forces stationed inside Berlin. The fight goes for several days before NATO is forced to evacuate from the city. The USSR welcomes West Berlin to the Communist bloc. French-German border June 12th, 1970 British and French forces retreat hastily back to the borders as the rampaging Soviet war machine advances forward. At the line between France and Germany, the Soviets are forced to stop. The resistance put up there lasts for four months, during which time the Soviets try to invade France through Belgium. The offensive ends up in failure, and the Soviets are stuck there. British-French counter attack July 11th,1970 With military aid from the United States, British and French forces spearhead an assault against the Soviet Army stationed on the French borders. The offensive manages to punch through the tight Soviet defenses and march towards Berlin. After this devastating blow, Soviets hastily retreat. Second Battle of Berlin November 21st, 1970 British and French forces manage to establish a foothold in the city. In collaboration with German soldiers, fighting for both NATO and for the Warsaw Pact, the European Coalition is capable of driving the Soviets away from the city. What was staggering was the fact that East German soldiers gave up on their arms and instead went on to hug their brothers and sisters from the West, with whom they were forcibly separated from nearly three decades ago. Several East Germans were executed from Soviet officers, and in the end, East German soldiers took arms and fought alongside the European Coalition against the Soviets. Unification of Germany January 12th, 1971 With the last soldiers of the Warsaw Pact retreating from Germany, Britain and France met with officials from both Western and Eastern Germany in London. Invasion of Poland February'' 4th, 1971'' "That reminds me of my grandpa's tales from the army..." Unknown German soldier of the European Coalition during the invasion of Poland Following the reunification of Germany, the European Coalition made preparations to march towards Russia's capital, Moscow. Though a healthy number of US troops were aiding the advancing British and French forces through the German front, the US steadily pulled out from the European front as time progressed. The next target of the British and the French forces (which referred to themselves as the European Coalition, since at least one third of their forces were made from soldiers from Spain, Germany, Holland and other European countries) was Poland, a key link between Eastern and Western Europe. The plan was to rapidly advance through the Soviet lines and annex Warsaw within three months. The operation was a success and Poland was annexed upon the defeat of the Polish army on a decisive battle near the USSR borders (modern Belarus). The decision from the European Coalition High Command to let the newly reunified German nation handle the annexed Polish population was poor. The Polish brought severe resistance and distaste to the German forces over their heads, memories of the German occupation from the previous war re-emerging. Scandinavian Intervention - The Petersburg Offensive May 11th 1971 With Poland annexed, the European Coalition had to decide on the best course of action for attacking the Soviet Union - all former campaigns against Russia had failed, from Napoleon back in the 19th century, to Hitler in WW2 and many more before them. The British managed to hold talks with Finland and Sweden, who agreed to help push into Russian territory. On May, the Petersburg Offensive was initiated; Finnish forces marched towards Leningrad from the north, whereas Swedish forces launched an amphibious towards the city, beginning a long bombardment. Few British and French troops, mostly lieutenants and higher ranked military officers, participated in the operation, overseeing the Scandinavian advance in Russian territory. The core of the British and French forces had focused on two larger targets - Belarus and Ukraine - their offensive in those territories beginning a week later. Gomel-Chernobyl Line May 18th, 1971 The British-French offensive managed to push through Soviet lines within Belarus and Ukraine, but the offensive was halted due to bad weather on the Gomel-Chernobyl line, a couple hundred miles from each country's respective capital. From there on, the European Coalition advance was halted, and the path to Moscow was never resumed. Fall of Leningrad August 4th, 1971 "Welcome to Russia, comrades! I hope you have your passports ready!" Unknown Russian broadcasting station which transmitted passages in Swedish and Finnish to the European Coalition during the Scandinavian assault at Leningrad Oblast Alongside Sweden and Finland, Norway joined them on the later stages of the Petersburg Offensive to take over the city. The Soviet defenses, severely weakened, fell in a few days, and long and brutal skirmishes followed on the streets of Leningrad. The Finnish managed to seize control of the old Tsar's Summer Palace and hoist their flag on top of the Soviet one, marking victory for the European Coalition, and the peak of the Coalition's military campaigns so far. Meanwhile, the campaigns in Ukraine and Belarus left the French and British forces respectively on a stall, without much progress - the first time in the war after the initiation of the counter attack from the French borders, where the British and the French advance halted. Thus, Swedish and Norwegian forces were redeployed to this region to help the advance, to no success. 1972 New Year Offensive January 2nd, 1972 After a long time of the front staying silent due to the winter, the Soviet Army mounted a massive offensive to retake Saint Petersburg. The attack lasted for two months, but the Finnish forces managed to hold the city. On the final weeks, the tide was turned against the Russians as support from Sweden arrived and managed to overrun the Russian artillery positions and forward operating bases. Truce of Helsinki March 23rd, 1972 As the situation was yet to unfold differently, Russia rushed to sign a cease fire treaty with the European Coalition, seeing as a new front opened on the Far East, with the US invading North Japan and South Korea trying to take over the North. After intense weeks of negotiations in Helsinki, the British, the French, the Finnish, the Swedish and the Russian ministers reached a conclusion, with terms that hurt the Russian pride, but allowed them to focus on the Americans in the East. This move, of course, angered the Americans. Russian Front The Russian campaign saw the involvement of Russian and American and their allies over Southeastern Siberia and the Korean peninsula. The conflicts first began when South Korea invaded the North, whilst American forces went and occupied northern Japanese territories under Soviet control. Hostilities ceased with the total defeat of American forces near Seoul and the mutiny of Japanese armed forces against the Americans, in fear of facing a new brutal attack from the Soviet Armed Forces. China remained neutral for the duration of the conflict, and both Soviet and American forces respected that, the first and only time both forces respected a neutral power's desire to not be involved in the war. American Front The American campaign began almost immediately after the end of the Russian campaign. Battles took place across Alaska, Canada and the continental United States. Russian forces crossed the Pacific and launched an amphibious invasion on the Alaskan coastline. With the American Navy still scattered from the Russian campaign, Alaska fell within a month. Canada, though it had declared neutrality, aided the US in secrecy; when Russian spies uncovered a large force of American forces moving through Canada, Russia invaded Canada. Canada's capital, Ottawa, fell five months after the invasion, despite valiant efforts from Canadian and American forces to hold the line. Meanwhile, the American Navy managed to inflict major damage on the Russian supply lines, conducting sabotage and thus stalling the invasion force during their advance on Canadian soil. When the Russians, however, crossed the borders to the continental United States, a major portion of the fleet had to be redeployed to the East Coast. The raids proved much less successful afterwards and, ultimately, stopped. The invasion of the continental United States was two-fold; Russia launched two offensives simultaneously, one through Canada to the East Coast, whilst the other was waterborne on the West Coast. The American defenses were mostly centered around Washington, leaving the West Coast exposed, allowing the Russians to gain a footing on California with ease and from there on advance onwards. The forces on the East Coast, which climbed down from Canada, met fierce resistance. The attack on Washington was a failure and subsequent targets, such as New York, also failed to register any victories. The Russians were forced to retreat back to Canada, wherein the West Coast forces advanced rapidly. On a decisive battle, the Russian forces penetrated the American perimeter and advanced towards Washington again. With the capital exposed, the US used four nuclear bombs to decimate the advancing Russian forces. The massive cost of lives from the detonation turned public opinion against the American forces, both on a domestic and a global level. Desertions on the American side ran rampant, and the war was officially over when it was found out that the President of the United States had committed suicide following what he had authorised. Aftermath After the end of World War III, the United States were split and divided. States on the West Coast were placed under Soviet control, with varying levels of autonomy, wherein states on the East Coast were left relatively untouched, due to the halt of the Soviet military. Alaska also returned to Russian control., whilst Canada returned under British control after long negotiations with the Russians. Russia also faced major problems. With Leningrad annexed (renamed Saint Petersburg once the Finnish took over), it would take several years for the city to break off Finnish control. The Leningrad Oblast managed to gain independence in the late 80s, whilst processes to reinstate itself with the Soviet Union were initiated, but broke down after the fall of the regime in 1991. Saint Petersburg returned to Russia on the turn of the century, on December 19th, 1999. Meanwhile, the Russian economy took a severe blow from the war, bringing it to its knees; the managing of the annexed United States proved to be a much bigger problem for the Soviet top brass, which forced them to allow the Patriots full control over the country. The involvement Russia had with the American Civil War thereafter, along with the failed Afghanistan campaign of 1989 and several domestic issues inside their own borders, brought the downfall of the Union by 1991. The biggest winners of the war were the European countries; England and France were praised for their successes on the battlefields of Western and Eastern Europe, and gained status and power equal to that they had before the Great War of 1914. Scandinavian countries also saw their economies booming. South Europe, meanwhile, benefitted from its lack of involvement by means of focusing on selling products and services to the rebuilding nations after the end of European campaign, especially to the countries of the Warsaw Pact, which saw most of the fighting on the later stages of the European campaign.Category:World War 3